[IC] Star Wars - Jedi Exile

Posting Status: Open.

[Sep]

"Citizens of the civilized galaxy, on this day we mark a transition. For a thousand years, the Republic stood as the crowning achievement of civilized beings. But there were those who would set us against one another, and we took up arms to defend our way of life against the Separatists. In so doing, we never suspected that the greatest threat came from within.
The Jedi, and some within our own Senate, had conspired to create the shadow of Separatism using one of their own as the enemy's leader. They had hoped to grind the Republic into ruin. But the hatred in their hearts could not be hidden forever. At last, there came a day when our enemies showed their true natures.

The Jedi hoped to unleash their destructive power against the Republic by assassinating the head of government and usurping control of the clone army. But the aims of would-be tyrants were valiantly opposed by those without elitist, dangerous powers. Our loyal clone troopers contained the insurrection within the Jedi Temple and quelled uprisings on a thousand worlds.

The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated! Any collaborators will suffer the same fate. These have been trying times, but we have passed the test. The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger. The war is over. The Separatists have been defeated, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. We stand on the threshold of a new beginning. In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society, which I assure you will last for ten thousand years. An Empire that will continue to be ruled by this august body and a sovereign ruler chosen for life. An Empire ruled by the majority, ruled by a new constitution!

By bringing the entire galaxy under one law, one language, and the enlightened guidance of one individual, the corruption that plagued the Republic in its later years will never take root. Regional governors will eliminate the bureaucracy that allowed the Separatist movement to grow unchecked. A strong and growing military will ensure the rule of law.

Under the Empire's New Order, our most cherished beliefs will be safeguarded. We will defend our ideals by force of arms. We will give no ground to our enemies and will stand together against attacks from within or without. Let the enemies of the Empire take heed: those who challenge Imperial resolve will be crushed.

We have taken on a task that will be difficult, but the people of the Empire are ready for the challenge. Because of our efforts, the galaxy has traded war for peace and anarchy for stability. Billions of beings now look forward to a secure future. The Empire will grow as more planets feel the call, from the Rim to the wilds of unknown space.

Imperial citizens must do their part. Join our grand star fleet. Become the eyes of the Empire by reporting suspected insurrectionists. Travel to the corners of the galaxy to spread the principles of the New Order to barbarians. Build monuments and technical wonders that will speak of our glory for generations to come.

The clone troopers, now proudly wearing the name of Imperial stormtroopers, have tackled the dangerous work of fighting our enemies on the front lines. Many have died in their devotion to the Empire. Imperial citizens would do well to remember their example.

The New Order of peace has triumphed over the shadowy secrecy of shameful magicians. The direction of our course is clear. I will lead the Empire to glories beyond imagining.

We have been tested, but we have emerged stronger. We move forward as one people: the Imperial citizens of the first Galactic Empire. We will prevail. Ten thousand years of peace begins today.

[TheEvanCat]

The familiar sound of gunship engines rattled the glass and blinds in the high-rise apartment where Terry sat on his couch, watching the datastream news on his screen. The maneuvers of Republic ships weren’t unusual in the heightened security in the aftermath of the Separatist invasion of the planet, but Terry knew something was wrong. These gunships were roaring on full power towards the Jedi Temple, a notoriously strict restricted airspace area even for routine police and military operations. Instead of a pair of gunships loitering lazily over neighborhoods to provide overwatch to clone patrols in the streets below, there were more than Terry could count. He leapt up to the window and raised the blinds, revealing squadrons of gunships and fighter escorts racing towards the Temple. Seconds later, blaster fire echoed through the cityscape from the sounds below. Shots rang out, heavy repeating blasters following the rifles.

Flashes of light erupted from the mystical home of the Jedi as proton torpedoes struck guard posts and landing pads. A shockwave shook the building seconds later, a familiar rumbling in his core reminding him of the explosions from clone artillery blanketing the landing zones at Geonosis. He frantically looked around for other signs of fighting: were the Separatists back? They didn’t give him any advance warning. There must have been an assault on the Jedi Temple, maybe special forces dropped in from stealthy ships in orbit to decapitate the Republic’s Jedi leadership. He quickly closed the blinds and rushed to his bedroom closet, where a safe under the floor had been specifically installed for sensitive equipment. His datapad, connected to the public network, was displaying a “signal lost” message along with the viewscreen. Communications had probably been cut.

The Separatist spy rummaged through and withdrew a set of concealed plasteel body armor, tossing it aside. His pistol belt and holster came next, along with a heavy hooded cloak to conceal his features. At the bottom of the safe were his communicators on the illegal datasteam that he had become all too familiar with during his tenure on the planet. He withdrew one, a simple disk with a button on the front and activated it: a holographic panel illuminated the room, where he scrolled to his contacts. Terry activated a secure line to his liaison with the CIS loyalist militia operating in the area, the closest thing to friendly forces he had without relying on the gangs and criminal networks in the undercity. “What is going on?” Terry demanded immediately as the blurry hologram of a bearded human appeared on the screen.

“I don’t know,” hurriedly answered the militiaman. “The clones are out shooting in the streets, at what I’m not sure. We haven’t made any movements in a week!”

“They’re fighting over here, too,” said Terry, looking out the window. More gunships zipped overhead, appearing to shuttle troops to a singular landing zone at the front of the Jedi Temple. “They’re dropping off clones at the Jedi Temple.”

“The where?!” asked the militiaman, a look of shock on his face. “What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know, man. I’m gonna try and figure this shit out. We might need to rally and get a move on soon,” Terry answered. “Be ready for a call, get your shit in a row. Out.”

The man quickly threw the body armor over his shirt, tightening the straps to his torso. It felt awkward on his body, too restricting after being used to operating without any protection. He clipped the pistol belt to his leg and immediately felt the weight of his drop holster dragging on his right thigh. Terry finished by donning his black, hooded robe. The agent left his room, making sure to lock his safe and door before he bolted to the end of his hallway. A small window was there, looking out across to another residential building: a drop of hundreds of meters was in between, but Terry had no time to worry about that. He climbed out the window and dropped down onto a metal fire escape by him.

He had always felt fire escapes were fairly useless, with a climb of hundreds of meters down to floor level. Even floor level was a misnomer on Coruscant: the “street” was itself hundreds of meters above the true floor of the undercity. But Terry wasn’t climbing down, he was climbing up: a much shorter vertical distance to the roof of this building. Despite this, it took ten minutes of sprinting up the bolted metal stairs and ladders before he clambered over the top onto the roof of the structure. Night concealed his movements as he quickly crossed industrial and climate control machinery to find a vantage point. The Separatist dropped quickly into the prone beside a humming air conditioner, retrieving a monocular scope from his pocket. The Jedi Temple was too far away for him to see what was going on, but the scope zoomed in significantly: CIS research and development had produced some interesting toys besides battle droids.

There was only one phrase Terry could utter as he saw where the gunships had been landing: a clone army had marched through the entrance and now was fighting violently across the Temple. Flashes of light from blasters and lightsabers illuminated windows and balconies. He steadied the monocular sight on the scene as another explosion somewhere else in the city rocked him.

“What the fuck is going on?” he mouthed, face frozen in confused fear.

[Mao Mao]

---

SENATOR JEH LAIRK

_{19 BBY}

THE DECLARATION

---

_{Senate Rotunda // Galactic City}

Jeh Lairk's worst fear was realized when the disfigured Chancellor announced the dismantling of the Republic like he was celebrating its demise. In fact, the majority of the Senate applauded, which wasn't surprising because it meant the end of the Clone Wars. Peace was finally here... but at what cost? He should've joined in the standing ovation. After all, it was supposed to be a moment of celebration. But instead, he looked around the chamber, and partially at the Chancellor, in disgust. Why?

'This is...' Jeh stopped himself from finishing that thought as the Chancellor finished his declaration of "a new order." The final standing ovation and the last chance to join in with insignificant applause. But... he wasn't able to move his hands at all. He tried again with force, but they remained gripping the railing of his senate pod. Even as his aides and other nearby senators began to notice, his hands still remained frozen in place until the Chancellor was gone. He was finally able to let go of the railing, and they were fine as if nothing happened to them. So why did it freeze? Was it out of fear from seeing what the Jedi did to the Chancellor? Out of excitement that war was over and peace was certainly here? Or was it out of... anger?

'No.' Jeh told himself as he left the chamber with his aides following close by. 'I am just stressed out. That's it! I need to book an appointment with my masseuse and...'

Jeh stopped dead in his tracks when he remembered the Chancellor declaring that "any collaborators will suffer the same fate" as the Jedi. Any collaborators. That obvious threat was directed at the Delegation of 2000 in which he was an active participant. Did it mean his life was in actual danger? If he wasn't there in person, and read the speech through the HoloNet, then he would've said no with ease. But... he was there at the chamber and felt how much hatred the Chancellor had in his words. That alone would've been concerning enough.

But, with the abolishment of the Republic, it was alarming.

Jeh took a deep breath before signaling his most trusted aide, Nym Breri, to come to him. Then, when he was close enough, the senator whispered, "Notify the twenty. Request an emergency meeting at once. Make sure the channel is secured."

Nym nodded and began preparations to send out the message to the twenty senators that Jeh trusted the most within the Delegation of 2000. And with his mind occupied, Jeh tried to head towards his airspeed before hearing his name being called. He turned and saw it was Jemok Fair, the senator of Lothal, with a few other senators. Domus had a huge smile on his face as he extended his hand out to Jeh, who accepted it.

"Peace is finally here, friend! We've won the war!"

Jeh managed to pull off a convincing smile for his friend and responded, "It's a wonderful time to celebrate peace."

"And celebrate, we shall!" Jemok happily proclaimed and then turned around to his senator friends, some of who Jeh knew. "Speaking of celebrating, we were going to head over to the cantina. I heard they were offering discounts on drinks. Want to come with us?"

"I'd love to, but I am not in the mood to get drunk. It was nice seeing you, though." Jeh declined Jemok's offer and tried to leave, but he was stopped by the Lothalite, who looked concerned about his friend.

"You usually don't turn down an offer like that. Are you alright?"

Jeh tried to come up with an answer until he found it rather quickly. "I just need a moment to rest after.. seeing the Chancellor for the first time after the assassination attempt. It caught me off-guard."

Jemok understood. "Yeah, I get it. It's extraordinary that he even survived the attempt on his life. Thankfully, the traitorous Jedi Order was swiftly punished for their crimes against the Chancellor."

In all honesty, Jeh nearly forgot what the Jedi supposedly did to the Republic until the Chancellor came into his mind. He didn't care about the other senators' opinions because it would've been the same: the Jedi betrayed the Republic and needed to be punished for it. But, for Jeh, he needed solid evidence for this alleged conspiracy. To him, it was unthinkable that the Jedi Order would've suddenly betrayed the Republic out of nowhere—especially with the war coming to an end. Then again, he did see what happened to the Chancellor at the chamber... It was impossible to fake his grey scarred body with makeup and prosthetics.

He didn't know what or who to believe in.

---

[Zarkun]

Riven Je'and

A cloaked and hooded figure hurried through the crowds as the rain began to fall on the lower levels of the new capitol of the Galactic Empire. The broadcast of the Sith Lord turned Emperor Palpatine had just finished and there were people in the streets celebrating the end of a horrible war. But the end of that war came at the cost, one that no one was going to see coming until it was too late. The form stopped outside a doorway and knocked six times, paused and the knocked three more. The door slid open and they ducked inside quickly before it slid closed and locked again. The figure took off her hood, revealing the dyed purple locks of Jedi Master Riven Je'and. The Nautolan Jedi Knight who'd let her in watched outside the door as a clone patrol passed by. "What's happening? Suddenly the streets came alive." That's right, she made them keep all the holoterminals in this apartment off until she had made sure they weren't being traced by their holoaccess terminals.

"Former Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is now Emperor Palpatine, and the Republic has officially fallen. We are now on the capitol planet of a Galactic Empire. We must get off world before the Clones realize that there was another way out of the temple they didn't know about and begin searching places like this." Riven looked around the corner to check on the Padawans, who were busy distracting themselves with a board game while the Kel Dor knight meditated in a corner, floating slightly off the ground. "I see everyone is trying to remain calm. This is good." The Nautolan shrugged.

"There isn't much else to do. How'd the meeting go?" Riven grimaced.

"They've agreed to do it if we can get them fifty thousand credits. Then the announcement came about the Jedi being 'traitors' and the price climbed to one-hundred thousand. So I mind tricked them. I'm not proud of it, but-" The Nautolan knight cut her off.

"You what?! That's not how we-" Riven's look practically froze him in place.

"We are fighting to survive, Knight Rolan. The laws and rules of the Order no longer apply to the situation. It isn't as though I strung them up with the Force and beat them with metal rods." The Nautolan nodded, his face one of apology and the Jedi Master sighed. "I apologize Rolan. I did not mean to be so harsh, but we cannot adhere so strictly to the Code, not while we're surrounded by enemies. I promise, this will not become a regular thing. Now gather the others and get them to the back door," replaces the hood on her head, shaking the water from it, "we need to move as they will only wait so long. Once we're on the moon resort, I have a ship we can take to the Outer Rim. We'll wait for word from Masters Yoda or Kenobi until then."

[Heat]

The rain came down in buckets down from the cloudy Corellian sky as the city bustled beneath its droplets. In the slums of the ancient Core World the newly proclaimed Emperor's broadcast fell on many unconcerned ears. The struggle to put food on the table and not become another corpse on the sidewalk took priority over a Sith lord's ascension to upmost power. As the undercover Jedi walked through the crowded streets of Coronet City he had no idea of the broadcast, or of his new status as a branded highly wanted criminal. This was until Siolo wandered into a densely crowded cantina, smoke wafting in the air from some lit cigarras smoked by relaxed patrons. As he walked towards the bar in the center of the room he waved away the foul smelling mist, his eyes picking up plenty of different species in the tavern. The densely populated metropolis was much like Coruscant in that regard, albeit far smaller in its scale as nothing could truly compare to Coruscant's planet wide city.

As the twi'lek reached the bar he noticed very few even acknowledging his presence, he was a nobody here which bode perfectly well for what he hoped. It took a few moments for him get the bartender's attention as the busy Duros was hard at work serving demanding customers. Siolo could tell many of them were dock and shipyard workers, paid middling wages which they'd blow here on alcohol. The incognito Force user leaned against the bar and ordered an Alderaan Twist, holding the liquor. As he sipped the beverage the twi'lek's in ear communicator buzzed which caused him to momentarily set down his drink and answered the call.

"Sio you need to turn on a television immediately. Something big is going down. The Jedi apparently tried to kill the Chancellor, he's all deformed and scarred." A familiar voice said into his ear through the communications device, seriousness evident in his voice. It was one of the Jedi's contacts on the world, an Iktotchi merchant by the name of Wolron Ta. Siolo had known the man for a few years and he'd be a valuable source of information for the Jedi.

"What? Thats impossible." He said shocked, having to pause for a moment before speaking in order to process the sheer madness of what he'd been told. Then his eyes narrowed on a monitor above the bar which had cut to a scene of Chancellor Palpatine speaking, clad in a crimson red robe with his face heavily disfigured. Then the Jedi posed a question to the barkeep, his pulse pounding in his chest. "Can you turn that up please?"

With an eyeroll the Duros did as he was asked and turned the volume on high. It was not enough to hear over the rocking noise of the patrons in the cantina but just enough so that Siolo could make out the words spoken. As he watched the Chancellor's expressions as he spoke a chill went down the Jedi's spine an his heart seemed to drop further and further with every single word that came from the man's mouth. The separatists had failed, beaten back by the Republic as Palpatine claimed a Jedi had been behind the movement, backed by the entirety of the Order. Dooku was no Jedi, he'd spurned the Order and fallen to the dark side as he happily slayed Jedi across the galaxy. Siolo felt a ping of anger pulsate through him, as his fist clenched until he forced himself to calm down.

"The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated!"

His emotions flipped to despair at this proclamation. His friends, brothers and sisters would be hunted down like vermin. As the Jedi stared into the screen he felt his communicator go off in his ear once more.

"They're laying waste to the Jedi Temple. Said clones descended on it and they heard the chaos for miles." His Iktotchi friend added, the tone in his voice evident that he did not know how to break such shattering news to the Jedi. Siolo had to suppress tears from streaming down his features as reality set in, hitting him nothing he'd felt before.

The destruction of the Temple would explain the sudden sensation he'd felt in the Force earlier, it nearly caused him to double over in shock. Even now the Force felt utterly chaotic, it was near impossible for the Jedi to even feel it. Before the newly proclaimed Emperor could finish his speech Siolo practically chugged down his drink, almost slammed down the glass and paid before he headed out the same way he'd entered. The Duros behind the bar simply shook his head and went back to his work as Emperor Palpatine's words fell on unconcerned ears throughout the cantina. Paranoia raced through Siolo's mind as he marched back outside, fear of his own discovery as well as the safety of his friends within the Order. His next concern went to his former Master Sinube, the old Jedi was wise beyond even his own years but such a twisted action by the Emperor would be certainly be the death of thousands of Jedi.

As he emerged into the outside the rain pounded the city, slamming onto Siolo's body as he walked lost in a whirlpool of sudden onset negativity. His hazel shaded eyes cast upwards to the clouded sky, the tears having broken through and streamed down his complexion. Masked only by the torrential downpour of the Correllian storm. Around him the crowds continued in masse, ignorant and uncaring of the undercover Jedi's pain.

[Sep]

Jedha City // Jedha // Mid-Rim

Dust shook from the top shelves, disturbed it fell to the ground slowly as the rumble of weapons fire reverberated through the city. The thunder of explosives pounding the shield at regular intervals. It wasn't enough to take down the city shield. It wasn't enough to deplete the shield, and it wasn't supposed to be. The Clones had turned against them. They had managed to run through several Padawans in the temple before Master Richo managed to stop their advance, they were repelled. The temple cleared, between the remaining Guardians of the Whills and the few Jedi that had survived the assault on the temple they managed to push back the Republic forces out of the city and activate the city shield.

Master Richo stood leaning over a holo table. His right hand was clasping his chin, stroking his chin. The map displayed the walled city and all its defences, a thin bubble indicating the shield that was protecting from the outside forces. Richo could form the telltale signs of a migraine clawing at the inside of his skull, closing his eyes and squinting his head slightly. There was a slight rasp at the door as he turned his head to look at the young Twi'lek Jedi Knight. In her shaking hands she had a cup of caf, he could already smell the bitter aroma of the warm liquid. Richo smiled his thanks as he took the cup, clasping it in two hands he took a sip. The warm liquid dancing on his tongue as he savoured the taste. Allowing some sense of normality and control to flood his senses.

He sighed once he lowered the cup from his mouth. "Any word from Coruscant?"

The blue-skinned Geli shook her head, her head tails swinging around her as she did so. "Nothing Master Richo. Even before the Clones started jamming the communications we've not been able to reach the Jedi Temple."

Richo grimaced. There was a wound in the Force, he could feel it. There was pain, chaos, confusion and much, much anger. There was no telling what had occurred, and on what scale. Had clones elsewhere in the galaxy turned against the Jedi? If so how many had died? How many were left? "Send out a call for help on every possible frequency. Try and target Lothal, Corellia, Dac and Kashyyk. Use the old emergency band. We might be able to get something through. We won't be able to able to escape without help."

"-but Master. What about the temple?"

The human stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "My Former Padawan, I'm afraid that the temple is lost. The best we can hope to do is evacuate as many Padawans as possible with as much Kyber as we can get our hands on."

"The Guardians-"

"The Guardians will never leave, not all of them. I shall speak to them in time-" The entire room shook as the next barrage of shells landed on the shield. Everything that wasn't bolted down in the room shook due to the power of the impact, in the distance, he could hear the screams and feel the fear radiate off the civilian population. "-but we have to go. The longer we stay here the greater danger we put the people in."

[Dion]

_{Interacting with: no-one.}

^{D A I D A I A H R K A N}

^{0 1 : 1 5 a m 1 9 B B Y , C o r u s c a n t , J e d i T e m p l e}

Synopsis

xxxxxx

x Dai Dai escapes from the Jedi Temple and makes his way towards the underworld, but is caught out in the open with no transportation and no contacts to help him. The situation seems dire, and increasingly so when a Dug taxi driver refuses to help him for free. Luckily, the situation turns around and Dai Dai is whisked away to safety – well, there is no such thing as safety in the undercity, but anything is better than being on the overworld, close to the Jedi Temple. Coruscant burns tonight, but Dai Dai does not intend to go down with the flames. Now, he finds himself in a strange cantina, surrounded by strangers who barely seem to have noticed the extinction of the Jedi order. His next step will be to find a way off the planet – but with no contacts and no guidance, that might be a harder task than he originally anticipated.

Coruscant had always been Dai Dai's favorite thing about returning to the temple. The way the city lit up at night was something that no other planet could hope to rival – it's beauty dazzling even the most stoic among the cities inhabitants. But tonight, the lights were different. Tonight, the sky lit up with the burning fires that razed the Jedi Temple. A place that, for a long time, Dai Dai had considered his home – as a youngling, and as a padawan. Perhaps there would be some sort of honor in it all, some sort of bravery, if they were simply bested by their foes. But that wasn’t how it happened – instead they were cut down like animals by none other than the clones they had been fighting alongside with and their hero, Anakin Skywalker. In the heat of the moment, escaping from the temple through a stroke of luck, there was not much time to ponder this. But, as he got away from the temple further and further, running as far as his feet would carry him, and then even further, the reality of the situation had caught up to Dai Dai. They weren’t defeated, they were betrayed. It stung, and if master V’raar had been here, then perhaps he would have had something clever or wise to say about it to dull the pain and explain why the force suddenly felt so.. different, before chastising Dai Dai for not knowing these things to begin with.

But master V’raar was dead.

And his absence stung even more than the betrayal they faced at the hand of Anakin. The sting, however, made way for confusion, panic, anxiety rather quickly. Slowly Dai Dai’s footsteps came to a halt, until he completely stopped, standing in front of the edge of a platform that oversaw a deep chasm leading to the “bottom” of the overworld. As he stood there, Dai Dai couldn’t help but feel helpless. It was like he was a young initiate again, brought to the temple on his first day, unsure of what was going to happen. Except this time it didn’t seem like there’d be a happy ending. No master Yoda to explain to him what it meant to be a jedi. Just fire and death.

Glancing back at the temple – now, nothing more than a dot of red-orange glow in the distance – Dai Dai felt something he did not often feel. Anger, frustration, fury. He knew these emotions were a path to the dark side, but what else was he meant to feel. Happiness, calm? In the face of such a tragedy? His brows furrowed inwards, his hands tightened into fists.

His feet dragged forward, as if he was going to somehow return to the temple, and slaughter them all one by one. But, before it could come to this idiocy, he was pulled back to reality by the voice of a stranger. Dai Dai glanced around, left, right, forward, before finally looking down and seeing that he was standing right in front of a Dug – and a particularly annoyed looking one, at that.

“Are you gonna pay up, or are ya’ gonna keep standing there,” the dug asked impatiently, standing on his arms while his legs were crossed. “I got otha’ customers here.”

“Excuse me,” Dai Dai answered, “pay for what exactly?”

“For da’ taxi ofcourse!” the Dug proclaimed, throwing his legs into the air as if Dai Dai had just committed a horrible faux pas. “Swear ta’ god you younglings are getting’ worse with da’ days.”

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” Dai Dai responded – his words polite as ever, being reminded of master V’raar telling him a soft voice got done more than a demanding one. “I do need transport, but I am afraid I’m not carrying any credits at the moment. Any chance you could.. give me a free ride?”

“Ye’ ye’! Sure, hop in!” the Dug proclaimed, waving his legs in the direction of his Coruscant taxi, before turning and pretending to walk towards it, stopping only to continue his little play, “hey, ya’ know what! Let me give the entirety of Coruscant a free ride, yea! That’ll make my kids happy, not havin’ any food, but at least their daddy’s a stinkin’ hero ain’t he? Get lost, kid! Yer’ in the way of payin’ customers!”

Dai Dai looked at the Dug, a little confused on what to do now – he got away from the temple, which was where the highest concentration of clone troopers would be, that much was sure. But if he took too long to get to a degree of safety, then before long the troopers would catch up. It was time to try something new. Dai Dai sighed deeply, thinking back.. what would master V’raar have done? .. there was this one trick that Dai Dai had seen master V’raar perform once.

Without any warning at all, Dai Dai lifted his hand and waved it from right to left in front of the Dug’s face. “You’ll give me a free ride to the undercity.”

The Dug looked absolutely puzzled, dumbfounded, perhaps even astonished at the sheer stupidity of this kid. It took a few seconds for him to even come up with a response to Dai Dai. Finally, he responded, “no.”

Now defeated, Dai Dai turned around, pondering where to go next. What to do next. There were no contacts in the city that he had – he’d been a cloistered pseudo-monk in the temple for most of his time on Coruscant, so there was barely any time to meet anyone, much less an actual reason to do so. Surely master V’raar would’ve had a smuggler he knew, or some sort of long-time friend with a ship. Dai Dai, however, had none of those things. And with all the jedi either dead or in hiding, there was nobody to help him.

For the first time in 18 years, Dai Dai was horribly alone.

The sound of resounding footsteps, not from civilians, but unmistakably from troopers, echoed behind him now. Turning around rapidly, Dai Dai immediately spots them, but realizes there is nowhere to go except.. down. Down over the ledge, into the great chasm that would lead to a certain death.

The Dug, too, is caught off-guard by the clone troopers, before his eyes catch the burning temple in the skyline behind them. For a moment, the Dug contemplates simply.. leaving – saving his own skin to drive a taxi another day. But then, he turns to Dai Dai. “Ya’ had a rough night, huh kid? .. can’t believe I’m giving one of you’s scumbags a ride fer’ free, but get in.”

With no time to waste, Dai Dai stepped into the Repulsorcraft airspeeder, followed closely by the Dug. Normally, it would be prudent to wait for more passengers to fill out the taxi, but given the “tight schedule” they were currently flying under, there would be no extra passengers for this ride. With a few quick movements the Dug brought the speeder to life, sputtering a little as it slowly but surely lifted itself off the ground, barely holding itself together.

“I don’t think we’re gonna make it off the platform like this!” Dai Dai tried to yell over the sound of the engine trying it’s best not to fall apart.

“Nah-nah! Been flyin’ this beauty for years, she may sound a little rough, but it’s pure powa’ unda the hood!”

Then, with a sudden jolt forwards that shook both Dai Dai and the Dug backwards and forwards, the speeder “sped” away. Only now the clone troopers caught on, rushing forward to try and stop the vehicle before it disappeared from the platform – one of them staying behind and radioing in to god knows where, “jedi refugee on the move from my location,” before following his comrades.

But they were much too late – with a twist of his control stick, the Dug sent the taxi into a nosedive, diving straight down towards the bottom of the over-city. With a maniacal laugh, the Dug yelled “the names Dongo, by the way! And, to tell ya’ the truth, I ain’t even got kids!”

Admittedly, now was not a great time for a conversation, much less when they were in what could only be described as a freefall that not even the most insane pilot would attempt. Just when it seemed like they were heading for a certain death on the long end of a multiple thousand feet fall into the chasm, the Dug straightened out the taxi and slowly brought back the speed, moving his taxi forward through the chasm of skyscrapers and platforms. As the buildings whizzed by, Dai Dai could only wonder as to the route Dongo was taking, his hands firmly grasping the edges of the taxi. He wasn’t even sure that taxi’s were legally allowed to move this fast – or even perform these type of maneuvers.

“I-I’m Dai Dai,” he finally managed to say, “I’m a… I’m a mechanic, from.. from Iridonia.” With a hasty move, he tried to conceal the lightsaber he had under his robes a little more, not realizing that the robes were probably even more of a telltale sign than the lightsaber probably was.

“Right, kid, and I’m a cosmetics salesman, drivin’ da’ taxi is just something I do for funsies, yeah?” Dongo replied sarcastically, although he neglected to tell Dai Dai that he knew what he was, perhaps out of some sort of vague respect for the Jedi – or, perhaps, because he simply disliked the alternative to the Jedi even more.

Once they reached one of the giant ventilation shafts that lead to the underworld, Dongo veered the airspeeder downwards again, this time at a much more relaxed pace than their initial freefall. “Ey’, kid! I’m gonna drop ya’ off at the cantina I like to visit – lots of drunkies there that need rides and don’t notice when I rip em’ off with a sob story about how my kids’ are starving. You find yourself a ship that can take you outta’ here, and then get back to Iridonia so you can do some engineerin’, ya hear?”

“Yes, mister Dongo, I will. Thanks for your help tonight – I was worried that, you know, with the lack of credits—”

“Aaaaaah, don’t mention it, kid. No, really, don’t. I might just regret not askin’ ya for everything ya have. You know, doing things for free, it’s against everythin’ I stand for. Nobody should ever get anythin’ for free, ya understand me kid?”

As the speeder came to a halt, Dai Dai stepped out of the speeder, his first steps a little wobbly. Now, Dai Dai was used to rough flying, but this had been.. something else entirely. “Thanks again, Dongo.”

“Yeah, kid, see ya! Tell ya’ kids about the great taxi-Dug Dongo, best pilot on this side of Coruscant!”

Neglecting to tell Dai Dai what the “other” side of Coruscant was, Dai Dai had no choice to believe him. And given his extreme free-fall flying in a taxi, the Dug might just have been telling the truth.

With a sinking feeling of uncertainty Dai Dai stepped into the cantina, receiving strange looks from some of the locals for arriving in a speeder to begin with, only doubled by his strange choice of apparel. It didn’t take a social genius to realize that Dai Dai was very much out of place here.

[Renny]

---

_{Interacting with: No one}

The very idea that his life had added up to one, singular, destructive moment was unbelievable. It was both too far out a possibility and outright ludicrous to ever believe but admittedly, and he hated himself for considering this during his manic plight, if anyone could have done it: it was Anakin Skywalker. War Hero of the Jedi and Republic. The rumored. No, whispered 'Chosen One', for whatever that was worth.

He could hear himself loudly, though he was sure it was just the mutterings of a broken mind accompanied by blaster fire and roaring flames. A chill took hold him, a raging and cold thing of unknown origin. "Forgive me- Please forgive m-me. Master Fadi, Master Yoda, Dai Dai, Rovesta'ka... I'm sorry for r-running! I'm sorry for b-being such a... such a coward!"

In his flight from the temple he stumbled upon the corpses of several Younglings and Knights, Jedi willing to lay their lives down for the good of all. For the Republic and the Light Side of The Force. In those morbid encounters, Ashurah found no such allegiance in himself. Every single time he thought of fighting, he could feel the weight of Anakin's unnerving strength bearing on him. The ominous, almost drowning pressure that he exerted. It ushered him further and further away from everything he knew, everything he appreciated, everything he once stood for...

But it kept him alive and he felt, that though he'd hate it and himself eventually, it would continue to do so for a long time to come.

Finally, when sensations and pure, irrational, instincts had begun to fade; the pain rushed in. The blurry, red vision in his left eye became starkly apparent. An inferno of needles rose his arms and onto his face; sliding deep into muscle and nerves. It crumpled him inward, sent him into a mind-numbing shock. He hadn't noticed it before but he no longer heard blaster fire, now it was just the sound of his heartbeat fading in his ears. Then darkness.

Then a flash of light, the opening of his eye, and... voices? A little girl's voice, worried. A old man's panicked, upset ramblings. A mature woman's voice, commanding yet urgent. She asked for several med-pacs. No, she yelled for all of them.

Mind shattered or not, he could feel her intent through The Force, which was leaden with pain, confusion, strife, and anger for the most part. However, through her small bubble, he could sense her humanity; her intent to save no matter the cost. Though it hurt to speak, like skin ripping at the seams; Ahsurah managed a choked, "'Ank you" before falling unconscious again.

[DELETED32084]

---

Kade Ritgar

---

"Halt!" The mechanical voice stopped Kade dead in his tracks. He had almost made it. So close, yet so far. He could make out the reflection of several clone troopers behind him in one of the nearby windows and he swallowed hard. He had made it this far by not using any of his force skills, every instinct warned him against it. Now, it seemed, he might need the help.

"Turn around!"

He turned and dropped to his knees at once, a datapad clutched to his chest. "Please don't shoot! I just work here!" It didn't take much acting to inject a significant amount of fear into his voice. He had never felt more alone, more confused, or more vulnerable, in his entire life.

"State your name." The clone officer had stepped forward, his blaster looming large in Kades face. He could feel a sweat break out on his brow. Moment of truth. He prepared to lash out with the force if needed. Part of him screamed a warning, telling him it would ensure his death, but better to live a little longer than not at all.

"My n-name..." He stuttered, and not on purpose. "My name is Dikyrn Tokra, I work in technical services here in the temple... Look!" He thrust his datapad at the trooper who very nearly shot him out of reflex. He took the datapad and taped the screen. Kade face swam into view but none of the information on it was his, it was that of his undercover persona that had allowed him to move about more or less unnoticed. He was gambling that the Clones did not have access to the Jedi databanks yet and the false identity might protect him long enough to escape.

"Here, check him." The officer passed the datapad back to another trooper who quickly began to tape away at the screen for a moment. There was a strange silence, broken by the distant sounds of blaster fire that grew ever quieter. Kade knew his colleagues were losing, he could feel their pain and disbelief as they died. He channelled the sorrow he felt into his own emotions.

"Please, I just work here. I don't even know whats happening, I just want to go home!" He sank further to his knees and buried his face in his hands. At every moment he resisted the urge to reach out with the force. To use it could only endanger him now.

"He checks out." The buzz of the troopers voice broke in on his thoughts and he felt a small sliver of relief. The datapad was held out by the trooper and he took it carefully.

"On your way then." The officer, having lost interest in the supposed technician, waved Kade away without a second thought; he ignored the babbled thanks that followed.

Still muttering "Thank you", Kade hurried away toward a small sally port exit. He suspected that whoever, or whatever, had made this attack possible would easily have the front doors covered. His footsteps sounded loud in his own ears as he began to run. The tremors in the force were growing less and less. To many were dying. He had no idea what to think, no idea what was happening, he only knew that he had to survive.

[Mao Mao]

---

SENATOR JEH LAIRK

_{19 BBY}

THE MEETING

---

_{500 Republica // Galactic City}

It felt strange to see the Jedi Temple, which Jeh always saw in the distance from his balcony, still on fire. He always had respect for the Jedi Order, even if he didn't publicly show it. Perhaps, it was good that he kept it a secret or not... And yet, he wasn't able to stop thinking about the survivors inside. Jeh didn't believe that the Republic triumphantly eradicated the order because they were the Jedi. He heard the stories about how they won battle after battle against the droids across the galaxy. There was no way that they would've been caught off-guard by the clone army.

And no reason to betray the Republic... unless...

Jeh was interrupted by the sound of his doorbell going off, which made him investigate the door. Upon opening it, some of the twenty had arrived when they got the message. It included Senator Alavar, Bancii, Bendon, Zar, and Mothma. He felt relieved and quickly let them inside his home, but was confused that they would've risked coming to his apartment. So, Jeh asked one of the senators about it, "What happened to the usual meeting place?"

"We haven't been able to contact Senator Amidala since the Chancellor's speech." Senator Mothma answered.

"Well, that's unfortunate." Jeh replied with a hint of concern yet understood he needed to step up until she returned. "But, this meeting needs to happen, especially after what the Chancellor said. Let's wait for more senators before we start. I will prepare some drinks for everyone in the meantime."

A few minutes later, more Senators arrived, including Senator Danu, Breemu, Tills, and Bronk. And they were the only senators to come to the meeting spot. Jeh was disappointed but understood why the remaining twenty didn't come. They were afraid that the newly founded Empire just began watching them. After all, they did sign the Petition of 2000. Regardless, Senator Lairk introduced his guest with some drinks before starting the meeting.

"I thank you all for coming here at such short notice. I understand that everyone knows why I called this meeting."

"The Chancellor." Senator Zar said with disgust.

"Yes." Jeh responded. "He has virtually killed democracy in favor of the Empire. I am concerned about what he has planned for the Senate next."

Senator Alavar stood up from the couch and tried to comfort the senators by revealing her plan. "Our alliance in the Senate may have failed, but it isn't over. Tomorrow, a few other Senators and I will confront the Chancellor over his latest attempt to seize absolute power."

"Are you sure it will work?" Senator Bronk asked.

"We have to try. I believe the Senate still has the chance to stop his plans." The Lorrdian answered honestly but remained confident in front of her fellow senators. There was a moment of silence before the Kedorzhan indicated he would join them with a hint of fear in his voice. Then, the room went quiet again until Senator Breemu spoke up and pledged her support. Then, she turned to Jeh and then asked him a simple question.

"Will you also support us, Senator Lairk?"

Jeh didn't know how to answer that question. On the one hand, he knew that the Chancellor must answer for what he announced today. But on the other, he had absolute power to do whatever necessary for the "Empire." This might be the last chance to get the Chancellor to return the powers and resign. But if Jeh were to go with the other senators, he feared that all of them would be arrested. Maybe the entire Delegation of 2000, including him, will be arrested soon; however, selfishly, he still wanted to remain a free man—for as long as possible.

"I can't join you... I'm afraid that the Chancellor will straight-up order for your arrest even if you request a meeting." Jeh answered truthfully to the senator, which was met with disappointing looks. Senator Danu, meanwhile, finally looked up for his drink and interrupted with a horrifying likelihood that made everyone, especially Jeh, freeze with fear and despair.

"He might even abolish the Senate..."

---

[Sep]

@Odin

THE TIPSY RANCOR // CORUSCANT UNDERCITY

As the Young Jedi walked into the bar, the stench of cigarra and alcohol would have assaulted his senses. Some people looked up at him, however for the most part there wasn't much interest as almost everyone returned to their drinks. Uninterested in the Jedi or whoever they were after, word hadn't spread this far deep yet about the bounty on their heads and the punishment for not reporting them into the Clone Troopers scoured across the planet. A lone figure stood sipping on his bottle of Alderaanian rum. Placing the bottle back on the bar he drew out a couple off credit chits from his pocket, throwing them on the bar beside his drink he clicked two of his fingers at the bartender. Indicating the bottle and the drink.

The Gungan walked over to the Jedi. Lowering his voice he stuck one of his long fingers into the chest of the Jedi. "Yousa fool for coming here." He turned to look around, it still appeared that nobody was paying attention to them. Tilting his head back towards the private rental rooms he turned around. "Come with me."

---

JEDI TEMPLE // CORUSCANT@the Wyrm

Little did the technician know but as he was leaving the temple, it was not his status as a technician that had allowed his survival. Afterall everyone within the temple had been killed that night. No, in fact, orders from an unknown source came through the Clones helmet, codes and clearances were exchanged indicating that these orders came from the highest level. In the distance, a scope was locked onto the being fleeing the temple. A droid probe hovered beside a figure cloaked in black and grey.

"Lead me on, little Jedi."

---

Meanwhile:

[Zarkun]

Riven Je'and

She couldn't believe what had just happened, as she sat in the back of the ship bound for Coruscant's moon resort. Despite all their precautions, all their care and caution, that they would have been caught...Everything had been going well enough considering their order had been all but exterminated in its entirety, with the Council members all having likely fallen to their clones in battles across the galaxy, and so far, their small group of survivors had avoided drawing any unnecessary attention to itself as they moved from the apartment that they'd been hiding out in. Even before that, they had avoided unnecessary attention, moving as a group through the crowded lower levels and only speaking to those they had to. Fortunately for the group of Jedi, it would take time for the Clones to do a complete sweep of the Jedi Temple and even with that done, they may never find the secret exit. No one's noticed us, which is good. Probably think we're a gang hitsquad or something, which works even better for us. If we can just get to the rendezvous...

But they didn't make it before trouble found them. Riven must have missed a tail or not noticed some being taking interest in her dealings with the gangsters earlier, because as soon as they got within four hundred yards of the ship that would deliver them to safety, the boarding ramp in sight with a pair of nervous looking gang members aiming blaster rifles at the alleys and playing guard, the Jedi Master got only a moments warning, and it wasn't enough. A flurry of blaster fire came from behind the group, the blue bolts crashing into the backs of the Jedi Knights and Padawans even as Riven's lightsaber flew to her hand and ignited, the twin orange blades snapping to life too late to save anyone but their owner. "No!" The gang members flew into action, as their source of payment was at risk as they took cover and returned fire on the clones as they moved forwards. Riven, grief gripping her heart, lashed out with the Force, locking the squad of six clones in a Stasis Field that held them in place as the two gang members put blaster bolts in their heads.

Stumbling over to the bodies of her fallen charges, she removed each of their lightsabers form their hiding places, clipping each one to her belt and swearing to keep their memories alive. However, when she reached Knight Rolan, he was still breathing raggedly, and struggled to offer her his own lightsaber, a sad smile on his face. "Guess it was *cough* too good to be true." Riven hurried over to him, struggling to stop the bleeding.

"No, Rolan, no, don't talk. I can stop this, we can both get out of here alive, and find other survivors. I won't have lost all of you." The Nautolan gently stopped her panicked fawning and put his crossguard saber in her hands, still smiling softly.

"No, Master. We were outplayed here, but the fact you're alive, and that other Jedi have likely survived, means there's hope. Go, before more clones come to investigate. The *cough cough* Force will be with you," the light began to fade form his eyes as he finished speaking, the last word say with his last breath, "alwayssssss...." And with that Jedi Knight Rolan passed on to become one with the Force, and leaving a Jedi Master who felt like she had failed those under her protection alone in the alley way.

"Lady, we need to move. Lookout says three more patrols are zeroing in on our little shootout here." Riven forced herself to her feet and past the gangsters, boarding her lift to Coruscant's moon and taking a seat after giving the person she'd made the deal with, Joseph Caronat, a Corellian with a big head, twenty thousand credits. He gave the word and the craft lifted off. Silence reigned as she grieved in silence for her lost fellows, but eventually, the Corellian spoke and revealed he not only had a big head, but a big heart as he also handed back the credits.

"Look, Master Riven. I know what the Empire is saying about the Jedi, about the war that just ended. Me and the boys, after you left, did some talking and something doesn't add up. We've all, at some point, had dealings with Jedi. They were the last to get violent and the first to try and talk things out. So this whole conspiracy that the new Emperor cooked up..." Riven looked at him with hard eyes.

"Get to the point please, Joseph." The man nodded.

"He's runnin' the biggest scam this side of the Maw and we can see it a mile away. Consider me and the boys at your service. Your eyes and ears on Coruscant and your personal tools for getting wetwork done. The Ravagers will answer to you." Riven took a moment to think, closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing to help. Having a source of information on Coruscant even after she fled it would be a great way to determine courses of action in the future and would also potentially allow her to return after the heat had died down and investigate on her own terms. Over all, she could find no down side, or at least, not yet.

"Very well, Joseph, I'll take you up on that. Having eyes and ears on the planet would certainly not hurt."

---

As the ship took off to return to Coruscant, Jedi Master Riven Je'and felt a small glimmer of hope as she made her way through the back alleys of the resort to her secret safe house and the ship she had stashed at it. The Ravagers would be able to reach her anywhere on the encoded channel she'd provided and she'd made it to safety, at least for the time being. The door to her safe house came into view and she approached quickly, entering the keycode she had custom made to beat burglars and entering. In the span of two hours, she had resealed the safe house, secured the provisions she'd need to get to the Outer Rim, and had taken off in her modified XS Freighter, the Yggdrasil. She set a course for the Outer Rim and jumped to light speed.

In the captain's quarters hung the lightsabers of the Padawans and Knights she had failed to get to safety, with Knight Rolan's saber hung one row above the others. I will do what I can for the galaxy, I will try and save the other survivors, I swear it.

[DELETED32084]

@Sep@Odin

Kade Ritgar

---

Kade didn't dare look back as he hurried into the repulsorlift. The ripples in the force were coming like tidal waves now, battering at his senses and putting him at risk of collapse. That would be a death sentence, of that he was certain. The doors hissed closed behind him and he took the time to draw in a few deep breaths. The smell of oil, a thousand different foods, and someones feces smeared in the corner of of the lift, assaulted his senses. He regretted his decision to breath in at all.

The lift hurtled downward into the city, the numbers ticking off rapidly as he went deeper, into areas that rarely saw clone troopers for a variety of reasons; mostly they weren't welcome. He was joined by several new occupants as he went down, a tough looking pair of Quarren who ignored him completely, dismissing him as just another human on Coruscant, which was now largely accurate.

The steady ding] of floors going past finally ended with a soft whoosh and the lift halted. The doors snapped open and the two Quarren stepped out and he saw that they had drawn their blasters. One saw his gaze, offered him a tooth grin, and then they vanished to the left and down a long darkened street. Someone had tagged the wall in front of him with a daily count since the lights had gone out down here. They had run out of space.

There was no sign of any Republic forces at all down here, only the Jedi had ever come this deep and even then, only rarely. He could still remember when the planet government had attempted to clean things up in the underworld. Over 100,000 local law enforcement and seventy Jedi had been sent in. They came out short about a thousand officers, two Jedi, and any useful change at all. They had never gone back.

The red and blue lights of a cantina lit the alley ahead of him and he made for it. It would serve to give him some time to think. His ship was still at the Temple and he had no doubt the clone troopers would be combing any outgoing shuttles so he would need a ride from someone who knew how to evade detection. You would find someone like that down here.

He stepped into the smoke filled space and immediately to one side. Another human in the depths of the undercity. He would blend right in.

[Bastian]

Bemizel Balu

It was hard to say when he'd last felt so alone. Perhaps before he had first felt the warmth of the Force, all those years ago as a child on the plains.

The plains were far away now. Huge trees loomed from all sides, suffocating in their closeness as Bem stumbled his way through the jungle in the dark. The few tiny slivers of sky visible in the canopy overhead had begun to turn gray with the predawn light - another day of running. The haggard Jedi had guessed, judging by the occasional colorful flashes in the skies and the deep tremors of the ground, that the Separatists managed to put together a hasty counteroffensive after the chaos and confusion at the Republic command post, though that hadn't stopped his own soldiers from combing the jungles for any trace of him. Any time he paused for breath, he could hear the faint whirring servos and telltale thudding footsteps of AT-RT scouts behind.

Alone. Bem's mind was still struggling to put the shattered pieces of his thoughts back together after what had happened. Liris. No. Too painful to think about. He couldn't bear to. His master had taught him to surrender himself to the Force, just as he'd taught to her. But the Force was little comfort right now, either. That wave of panic, confusion, and overwhelming pain had threatened to send him sprawling. Even now, he still felt occasional little agonizing shivers run through him as some other Jedi no doubt met with a terrible fate on some far-flung world.

Perhaps the only thing threatening to steal his sanity faster than his own crimes was the question that stood at the front of his mind, the maddening need to know how this terrible thing had been done to the Order. No, the Force would not be much help any time soon. He could barely concentrate enough to extend his senses to just beyond this -

Bem flattened himself against the nearest shaggy trunk instinctively. Far behind, he heard familiar voices, now, in addition to the scout walkers.

Another loud explosion seemed to rock the very planet itself. The Jedi seized the opportunity and took off again through the undergrowth, running perhaps a little faster this time. A creeping vine whipped at his face as he crashed forward, hoping to put some distance between himself and the searching troopers. He could only hope that on the other side of this jungle there was a settlement... or some other way off-world.

[rivaan]

Kosara Sal Valas

Location: Deep Space

The starfighter was drifting aimlessly across the sea of stars. Kosara just stared out the cockpit, the sounds of her former companion’s druid was ringing through the communications, but she made no noise. This was madness, this was absolute madness! She ran a hand through her hair, green eyes filled with mixture of horror and manic amusement. She burst out into loud mad laughter… and kept on laughing as she watched the broadcast.

Everything they fought for!!!! Everything they killed for! EVERYTHING THEY DIED FOR! For the very thing they protected to turn against them like this!!! She laughed and dammit couldn’t do anything else as tears ran down her face. There was nothing she could do. NOTHING. She lost Vala… The jedi had actually sacrificed herself to push her out of danger and that made Kosara feel like dying inside. The manic laughter slowly was being replaced by the cries of pain. Sure she wasn’t a devout Republican if anything, but she did consider the Jedi a good thing for the galaxy. Heck she spend almost two years now fighting for and with a jedi. Kosara wasn’t ashamed to admit that she probably harbored feelings for Vala, but she would have never told the jedi in question. Now that chance was forever gone and scenarios of ‘what ifs’ raced through her head.

She gulped, hearing some of the beeping of the droid finally.” What? I can’t do anything… the jedi order is gone!” She snapped back at the lil droid and ran her hand through her hair.” Sorry… I’m so sorry… I know you lost your master.” She stated quietly and bit her lower lip. She wanted to mourn Vala, but now was not the time. She wanted to also survive and possibly enact revenge on the … Emperor. A tall impossible order given the fact he’d be as protected as he could and something was seriously messed up, she had no idea how he had managed this, but given he managed to install himself as an Emperor, supposedly survived a jedi ambush, had control over the vast clone armies and everything else, her getting to him was unlikely. The only thing she had going for her was that she wasn’t a jedi, nor a padwan. She was a merc and her partnership with Vala began when the war was already ongoing, so maybe she had better chance to get lost in the paperwork. That said, her flying a ship reserved mainly for Jedi, was a rather huge give away.

“I should ditch the ship… and you, sorry little guy.” She stated, looking at the droid.” Maybe I can get you a decent place, but where can I go hide and ditch this without getting chased to the end of the … Empire?” She asked to herself. Thinking about it, maybe she could go to Nar Shaddaa… as a merc she knows a few people there, but then again, the Smuggler’s Moon wasn’t save at the best of times and this wasn’t the best of times. Tatooine maybe? That was sadly out the option as well, a bit too far and while backwater and good place to hide, it doesn’t exactly house a lot of resources of opportunities. If she ditches the fighter there, she wouldn’t be able to get another ship to leave easily and likely nobody would buy this thing for decent cash. Many planets ran through her mind and all of them she shot down as options. Kosara even considered doing a mad run to Corusant to attempt a suicide mission to kill the bastard Emperor, but her instinct for preservation kept her from it, no matter how tempting it was.

She had considered so much and everything went back to the futility of it. There wasn’t a clear path for her to take now. She was lost in the middle of space with no idea where to head to after all. Maybe… she should return back to being a wandering merc and move to the Outer Rim? Granted her going with this ship wasn’t as likely, she wasn’t a Jedi and didn’t have the ability to spend absurd amounts of time in static posture meditating on the force. She’d need to get on a proper transport in the end and abandon the fighter. As much as it hurt to leave, she had to survive, but maybe just staying here a bit longer wouldn’t be too bad. She was tired… Needed a bit of rest.

As she decided and had allowed herself to begin slipping out of consciousness, a beeping noise tried to pull her attention. She vaguely opened her closed eyes to check what it was as the droid had apparently picked up an emergency message… on the frequencies usually used by Jedi. She stalled, eyes flung wide as she tried to decide if she should listen to it. In the end she did, she had a saving people thing and she wanted to help after all. Just like how she and Vala did until now. Help people and save them from bad guys. After listening to the message, she knew a possible destination. Maybe she could go to Jedha? It wasn’t too far, she’d get there fast enogh. One ship wasn’t much, but with smart flying, she could provide support to the Jedi there.

She barely took a moment to decide. In a flurry of motion, the previously dark and silent starfighter came to life as all the screens, light indicators and everything else was now working, the kockpit filling with warm light.” Alright, D2-Z1, we are head to Jedha. Gonna try to help the Jedi there… Oi Don’t sass me, who's the pilot here? I know it’s dangerous. But I WILL HELP.” She repeated as she set the course and engaged the hyperdrive.

[TheEvanCat]

A team of four was looking for something, probing sensors at the trash piles that crept up along the sides of the dilapidated tenement’s walls. Another set had gone inside to investigate further, but the ones on the outside were close to reaching their prize: a hidden repulsorlift station, once a part of a section mass transit system that connected to a series of trains and people-movers underground. It was now a quick and easy way to get to Terry’s territory in the underground. He had planned on escaping through the station, but the clones in his way were proving quite the issue. Hidden a block away under his veil, Terry pondered the options.

The clones drew closer to the lift station, when Terry noticed the shape of a hitherto unremarkable abandoned speeder. Colored bright yellow and bearing the markings of the Lower Coruscant City maintenance department, it carried a large flatbed where rusted crates had obviously been pilfered and left to sit among the elements. It lay, abandoned and unused for many years, in a similar pile of debris and detritus. It also gave Terry an idea.

The clones were directly in front of the station now, but could also be seen from where the speeder was parked. It was a straight line from the parking spot to them: Terry confirmed this as he crouched in the shadows and slowly walked to the vehicle, careful to avoid wrappers or paper or anything else that could make a crunch or a snap to give away his position. He knew he only had one shot at this. Terry reached the door of the yellow speeder and peered inside to the cockpit, its windows having long since been broken by hooligans. The control panel dimly glowed, indicating at least some functionality. With an eye on the clones, Terry found himself a plasteel block that lay shattered on the ground and weighed it in his hand. It would do.

With a swift sleight of hand, he punched the start-up button in the cockpit. The speeder suddenly roared to life, groaning and straining as its ageing parts spun back to life. The clones leapt towards the source of the noise, yelling and raising their weapons. At the same time, Terry tossed the brick inside towards the pedal and it found purchase. The speeder whined as it accelerated to full power, the crates rattling and falling off the back as their rotted straps broke under the sudden force. It happened in seconds: the clones began firing, expertly aiming their shots for the speeder’s cabin. Unfortunately for them, there was no driver to kill in the cockpit.

Three clones knelt almost shoulder to shoulder, firing their blasters before they realized what was happening. One yelped at the others to take cover, but the speeder was too fast. All three of them impacted on the hood of the cockpit, with one being viciously impaled by the pointed tip of a repulsor pod. Another rolled under the speeder, his armor singed and burned as he was caught by the hot antigravity wash of the speeder’s propulsion system. The third was flipped across the top, a ragdoll in the air as he cartwheeled down the alley. Terry followed the speeder at a brisk walk and waited for the clone to hit the ground with a thud. His helmet’s facepiece had been broken and cracked, with a trickle of blood coming out towards his cheek.

The clone reached for a weapon but found none: his blaster was several meters away. Terry didn’t wait for him to develop a secondary plan before he delivered a blaster shot duly to the back of the clone’s head. A fourth clone sprinted into the alley, having dropped his sensor package to unholster a pistol on his hip. Terry shot him too, in the chest and the face, watching the clone drop to the ground. The other two were obviously out of commission and the speeder had crashed into the wall and was now on fire. Terry moved quickly to the station before any backup could be called. Before he descended down the stairs, he withdrew a grenade from his pocket. It was set to proximity explosive mode, and he tossed it into one of the many piles of trash next to the entrance. A surprise for the tracking party.

The dirty lift still worked, maintained by the various people who came in and out of the undercity. One of them with a particular sense of humor had replaced the elevator music speaker with a consistent loop of cantina jazz. Terry found himself tapping his foot to the beat as he dropped into the depths of the undercity. A rare moment of respite allowed him to think: The Repub- no, it’s the Empire now. Shit. They’ve all gone crazy.

Through the grime-smeared window he could see he was finally ending the journey. This lift dropped him straight into the cantina district underneath the Temple. An irony he much appreciated when he came here to relax in anonymity. He had a safehouse here too, one that he had taken after he shot a dealer in a territory dispute over whose gang owned a notoriously profitable deathstick dealing corner. Terry had fished the man’s apartment keys right off the charred body after two of his colleagues had done a speeder drive-by of a café where he liked to hang out. Whatever, he continued to think: They’re still trying to kill me, so I’ll still try to kill them.

The alley he landed in was long since blacked-out and nobody had bothered to fix the lights. What Terry noticed first was the familiar smell of the underworld: an industrial, stale smell that reminded him of a starship. That, combined with the artificial lights hung on scaffolding below the “real” city above, made him feel like he was back on a Techno Union freighter again. It was oddly comforting. Terry made for a blue-and-red-lighted bar that he knew to be one of the hubs for his informants and connections. While he had heard the announcements above, he still needed someone to get him the bigger picture.

Edit: I guess @The Wyrm @Sep @Odin too...

[Dion]

_{Interacting with: @Sep @The Wyrm and @TheEvanCat.}

^{D A I D A I A H R K A N}

^{0 1 : 3 9 a m 1 9 B B Y , C o r u s c a n t , T i p s y R a n c o r}

Synopsis

xxxxxx

x Dai Dai is almost seduced by a particularly pretty Twi'lek, who need only bat her eyelashes at him once to cast her dark spell. He is saved from the curse of love (;)) by a Gungan, and while the alien looks rough around the edges, Dai Dai decides that that is exactly what this place would attract. Dai Dai questions the aliens' motivations, but ultimately, lacking master V'raars powerful guidance, decides to ignore caution and trust the Gungan based on nothing more than the fact that he finds Gungans to be friendly people, if a bit strange. He senses the presence of a force user nearby, however the cantina is simply too busy to be penetrated by normal Zabrak eyes -- and so, he follows the Gungan into a room. Whether a trap or a golden ticket off the planet remains to be seen.

Dai Dai looked around in amazement; while him and master V’raar had attended many diplomatical parties and celebrations over the years, and even a few cantina’s here and there when the need for information was high, they had never been to a place quite as shabby as this. Indeed, calling this a “place” was about as far as one could get. It was dilapidated, that was for sure, but it called itself a cantina and served drinks and food, then Dai Dai wasn’t going to argue. In fact, he was more than happy to glance around a few times at the more interesting characters; his eyes even lingering on a particularly attractive Twi’lek, who dragged her fingers over his shoulder, staring at him seductively, before laughing and continuing on her path towards the exit. Had Dai Dai stayed on Iridonia with his parents, and entered the same lifestyle as them, he might’ve gotten used to these things, but as a Jedi padawan – and one sworn to celibacy and a life of upholding justice and order – it was hard to see these things as anything other than… strange.

At the same time, the simple touch of a stranger – a particularly attractive one, yes – was enough to make Dai Dai’s heart race, being an inexperienced young man who spent most of his days looking at a charming green alien lecture him about the force. Yoda was wise, but well, this Twi’lek was hot, and it was hard to argue with that. It was almost enough to make Dai Dai temporarily forget that his temple was burning. Almost.

The sudden thud of a finger against his chest alerted Dai Dai that he was, in fact, not running through a meadow with a strange Twi’lek, but standing in a decrepit cantina, home to nothing more than scum and villainy, likely breathing in at least thirty different kinds of disease just from the cigarra alone. This place was, indeed, a place.. and nothing more.

Dai Dai’s eyes looked down at the Gungan’s finger, before looking back at the alien – a dangerous looking one, to be sure. Were master V’raar here… well, perhaps he’d have told Dai Dai to steer clear of this particular one. Lacking his insight and intuition when it came to strangers, Dai Dai was left without guidance, and without guidance, it was hard to discern what this alien wanted. Was he friend, or foe? Dai Dai felt the force push and throb inside of his head – like a strong headache, temporarily, heavily focused and yet so uncontrolled, like a burning fire. But understand it he could not.

He spoke slowly, uncertain, “nowhere else to go.” His one eyebrow furrowed, as if he was looking at the man questioningly. The question repeated itself in his mind; friend…? Or foe…? When the Gungan told him to follow him, a sudden presence in the Force alerted Dai Dai. He turned his head, ignoring the Gungan briefly, peering through the masses to see who – or what – had entered the room. The more time passed from when the clones assaulted, the lower the chances were of there being a fellow jedi – in all fairness, Dai Dai was afraid of Anakin himself following him more than anything. Rarely had Dai Dai felt such a strong presence in the force, not even in his master, nor in any of his fellow padawan. Dai Dai was not exactly a skilled user of the ability to sense other’s emotions, but in the moment that Anakin killed master V’raar, it didn’t take much to feel the raw… power, anger, all of it.

But through the masses, it was hard to see anything. There were no jedi – and more importantly, no Anakin. Not as far as Dai Dai could see. So he turned back to the Gungan, and nodded. “Lead the way,” he said. Something in him told him to trust the alien – for now, since he had always liked Gungans – and he followed the Gungan into the private room. It was strange that the man had a private room prepped despite not being in it, but Dai Dai hadn’t the presence of mind – nor the emotional state, to be quite frank – to question this.

As he entered the private room, he glanced around, checking the room out just to make sure he wasn’t walking into a private party for the clone troopers’ high command. That, however, did not seem to be the case.

[DELETED32084]

The never ending buzz of sound and light that came with a place like the cantina were annoying at best, and downright frustrating to their worst. Kade had come here to think and found himself more or less unable to do anything other than watch the parade of beings go by. At any other time the joy of being-watching would not have been lost on him; one of his favourite things to do was watch and observe. But times were different and even as he slid into a small two person table, his back comfortably to the wall, he was awash with emotions and pain, so much pain.

The table he had chosen was near the middle of the room, a faded cushion stained by liquids he likely did not want to know still felt comfortable despite its age. The table, a battered steel column topped with a reddish faux-wood, was crisscrossed with the markings of a thousand patrons, and more than a couple of blaster marks. Directly across from him, all its seats taken by a series of incredibly fat Snivvian females, all of whom had gaudy nails, garish fake wigs, was a series of slot machines that blared random noises and pings likely designed to be pleasing to the species playing them. To Kade, it was a headache in the making.

A droid rolled over, someone had painted a smiling face on its otherwise featureless faceplate, and stopped in front of him. It's audio processor was clearly broken, a stream of static was all he could make out, but a screen flashed ORDER? on its chest.

"Phattro, neat and short." Kade spoke quickly and the droid wheeled away into the mass of beings. Kade estimated that several hundred bodies had been packed into the small space and, despite all the holoscreens playing, only one seemed to be covering the destruction on the surface. Most were showing Nuna-ball, it was the championship tournament, and a couple had the latest extreme para-sailing flashing images of gigantic waves and summersaulting contestants. That was another guilty pleasure he had once enjoyed, though his role in the Jedi Order had forbidden him from competing of course, something about an unfair advantage.

Most Force sensitives were capable of detecting and interpreting the immediate, surface level thoughts, memories and emotions of most individuals around them by way of the Force, though this would often apply best to those who were emotionally or mentally overwrought and unbalanced. Kade was no different and he took several deep breathes to calm himself before slowly beginning to reach out with the force and gently touch on the minds of those around him. He sensed no innate hostility toward himself which allow him to relax slightly.

He was surprised, however, when he felt the presence of another force user in the room. It didn't take him long to spot the very out of place young Zabrak. Actually, that wasn't fair to him, the Gungan caught Kades attention first. They weren't exactly common on Coruscant, and even less so down in the undercity. The only water down here was so badly polluted it ran nearly ink black at the best of times. Only when it rained did the surface water run grey, and only then because of the lighter grey dust and ash being washed down from the city above.

From his distant table he was unable to make out any real features of the youth, or the Gungan, but there was no mistaking the Zabraks force sensitivity and how it stood out from everyone around him. Still, Kade dared not move, instead using the force to maintain a tenuous link with the unknown alien.

[Renny]

---

_{Interacting with: No one}

There was an incessant beeping far-off in his oblivion. Somewhere beyond the realm of his pseudo-consciousness. In the place he eventually created for himself, a self-contained, fluctuating bubble of stabilizing Force energy--mostly instinctual than practically constructed, Ahsurah heard Master Fadi atleast twice. Words of encouragement mostly always her calling him 'Su Su', her way of teasing him.

So when she urged him to awaken... he nearly dreaded it. Yet he woke up, slowly and in relative anguish. He could hear voices, muffled whispers as they were off to his left. He groaned and the talk quieted. The man, in a authentic gruff, sent "Dally" to check on him. The young woman, probably about fifteen or so, strode up and shouted back. "Looks like he's up and conscious, Mox. Not the prettiest though."

Ahsurah felt stiff, his left side was steadfast and unmoving. He focused the Force inwardly and sat himself up, "... Well, thank you anyway, insult null and void... a-as it is."

Vision was partial impaired he noticed, that sucked tremendously. He knew instantly that he would have to revise his lightsaber form. "I-I have questions."

Dally, a sweet-faced, russet-skinned human raised her hand. "Not for me. Save your questions for Vale," she told him, standing and striding towards the back. "VALE! YOUR CHARITY CASE IS UP!"

A secretive, short conversation followed. Then another woman strode in. She was darker and taller, her hair was a mess of oiled curls, and her brown-eyes held a gentle mirth. She wiped her hands with a murky rag before extending it towards him; the metal sheen on her left arm shocked him. It was a old model, barely a prosthetic. But he reached out and clasped it. She eyed his arm in mild surprise, "Should be impossible that you have this kind of muscles control... It hasn't been that long and your condition was critical."

"I guess, Dally was right. Jedi are made of tougher stock," the man, Mox, barked from the piloting seat.

Vale, somewhat stone-faced, lowered herself into a crouch. "How ya feeling, Jedi?"

Ahsurah managed to stifle his emotions for the moment. "Good enough, thanks to all of y-you. What happened?"

[Sep]

DEEP SPACE // UNKNOWN REGIONS

Tyrell Omi-Ren paced along the corridors of the ship. His boots clanked against the floor, it rattled at points as he made his way along. There was the faint rattling and hissing as various pipes and systems struggled to compensate after the damage that was done to the ship. His ship. The Vitae first of its kind within generations, a cruiser built for the specific purpose of transporting and training Jedi throughout the Galaxy. Making a handful of journeys too Illum from Corsucant during the waning days of the war. That was until their Clone Escort fired upon them, the battle was tough but they managed to survive. They were however left stranded in deep space, engines inoperative and they didn't have the parts or the know-how to get them running again.

He groaned as all the lights turned off. The sound of the air purifiers ceased, he started to run down the corridor. The sound of his boots on the ground hitting harder as he ran down the corridor. The ship shook slightly as he ran onto the bridge. A hologram of the layout of the ship flickered above the dias. His former Padawan Worror stood before it, the giant stalks of his Ithorian eyes looking around the picture and barely looking up as Tyrell ran into the room. "Status report."

"It looks like the main reactor has powered down-" The Ithorians warbled speech was translated by a device mounted around its neck. "-we're purely ballistic now. No engines, no life support and emergency power only." Tyrell sighed. They didn't have a way to send out a signal, but they didn't have enough vessels to flee or get everyone off the ship, and not nearly enough escape pods.

"How many fighters do we have left?"

"We only have one hyperspace capable." Tyrell grimaced. One chance, one shot to go and get help that's all they had.

---

GUNGAN // TIPSY RANCOR // CORUSCANT UNDERCITY
^{@Odin@The Wyrm@TheEvanCat}

If the young Jedi thought the bar had been messy and untidy then he had another thing coming with the private room. Bottles littered all over the room, ashtrays full of half-smoked cigarras, ash smiling out over to the floor. Which itself was sticky, the effect of various bodily excretions and spilt beverages. Once the Jedi was in the room the Gungan practically punched the button to close the door. "Are yousa a FOOL?!" He stormed over, barging past the Jedi in order to close the blinds to the outside world.

"Ten thousand Jedi gone-" He snapped two of his fingers "like dat and yousa just waltz in here wearing robes!" He shook his head. "We needs to get you in a change of clothes, and off-world." He nodded pointing towards the closet. "Get changed."